Category Archives: OCFA

SANTA ANA, Ca. (Jan. 16, 2018) -The Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) will serve as the County’s primary responders for remote-area rescues as an agreement with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) for a dual-agency approach expires today.

A 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) took a dual-agency approach for air search and rescue missions in remote wilderness and park areas. The MOU was set to expire in August 2017, however Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has extended the MOU multiple times. Sheriff Hutchens announced today she will not issue another extension. Continue reading→

A plan by the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) to allow revenues received for fire protection to be used for any purpose has been struck down by the state Court of Appeal, which upheld a County challenge to the proposal.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted in January 2014 to oppose the OCFA plan, which would have diverted at least $134.5 million in fire funds to the city of Irvine through June 30, 2030, with no restrictions on its use. The city argued that the transfer was appropriate because Irvine property taxes allocated by the County for fire protection now far exceed its share of OCFA costs. A Superior Court judge disagreed in August 2014, ruling for the County. Continue reading→

The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Board of Directors unanimously approved a pension reform proposal by OCFA Director Todd Spitzer to allow newly-hired executive management employees aged 60 or older to opt out of a pension. The proposal was made possible by a pension system regulation that was ratified at the urging of then-Supervisor/now-Senator Patricia Bates, who is also a former OCFA Director.

“This is as far as state law will allow for moving OCFA executive management employees into 401(k)-style retirement plans,” OCFA Director Spitzer said. “Before OCFA approved this policy, OCFA executive management employees could not even refuse to enroll in a pension plan. Now, new OCFA executives who are at least 60 years old will be able to decide on an individual basis if they want to have a defined benefit pension plan or a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan.” Continue reading→

On Tuesday, at our regularly scheduled meeting, the Board of Supervisors discussed taking a formal position on Assembly Bill (AB) 1217, authored by Orange County Assemblyman Tom Daly.

The current composition of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) is determined by the Joint Powers Agreement that created the authority and under which it operates, as amended. The OCFA Board of Directors has 25 members. Of the members, 23 represent “partner cities.” The County is represented by two members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Continue reading→

Irvine can replace the union-hostaged OC Fire Authority

Irvine Councilmembers Jeff Lalloway and Christina Shea have just been handed a great opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade and prove that their city can actually run something like a business. With the Great Park debacle not taking any of the DA’s time but consuming headlines, reputations and, hopefully, Larry Agran’s re-election campaign (Beth Krom will not be running for Mayor), this hit last week on Irvine certainly wasn’t welcome:

Per the OC Register on 8/7: An Orange County Superior Court judge has ruled against the Orange County Fire Authority’s plan to return millions of dollars to cities that overpaid for firefighting service, dealing a blow to the agency’s efforts to appease communities that have threatened to leave the fire authority if they aren’t reimbursed. Judge William D. Claster’s ruling backs county leaders’ efforts to prevent the fire authority from paying millions to Irvine, Laguna Woods, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Juan Capistrano and the county, who for years have been overcharged for their fire services. The county argued that the proposed payments to the members would have amounted to a gift of public funds.